Advocacy Updates – February 2025

East Metro News

The Saint Paul Area Association of Realtors® (SPAAR) Realtors® Charitable Foundation will award up to five $2,000 scholarships to children or grandchildren of current SPAAR members.
Saint Paul just formed a nonprofit, called the Saint Paul Downtown Development Corp., to raise funds to redevelop the struggling downtown.
Three Saint Paul buildings are slated for office-to-residential conversions that would bring 1,200 residents downtown. Saint Paul's downtown may also see 300 market-rate apartments near Central Station (subscription).
Bayport will soon see a new housing development with 65 new units.

Rosemount and Saint Paul received grants to help clean up sites contaminated with petroleum.
Rosemount will soon open a 160-unit affordable housing development in the City (subscription).
West Saint Paul will see a 149-unit affordable apartment building at the former Wentworth Center office building.
The Burnsville City Council was less than receptive to a 100-unit development proposal at the former elementary school (subscription).
Over 95 acres in Eagan were purchased by Amazon.

Ramsey County’s FirstHome Program assists first-time and first-generation homebuyers with low-to-moderate incomes who are purchasing homes in suburban Ramsey County.
Brooklyn Park has plans to build a multi-family development despite protests from Maple Grove and Champlin, two neighboring cities.
The Northwest metro suburbs are expected to add 60,000 more people over the next thirty years.

Minneapolis officials are trying to come up with new ways to help homeowners deal with broken sewer lines.
Edina ends the City's down payment assistance program after 40 years due to lack of funding.
Eden Prairie's home sales are down nearly 5% from 2024 and still remains a buyer's market.
A downtown Minneapolis office tower sold for a 97% discount.

The make up of the Minnesota House may change due to the special election for House Seat 40B in Roseville.
Minnesota developers popularized racial covenants that later spread across the country, according to historical records from the early 20th century. Mapping Prejudice is working to remove them throughout the Metro.
Both parties in the Minnesota government are concerned about rising homeowners' association fees.
Minnesota's Housing Disaster Recovery Loan Program is accepting applications in response to the severe storms and flooding in Minnesota between June 16 and July 4, 2024.

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) congratulated Scott Turner on his confirmation as next Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The bipartisan U.S. Congressional Real Estate Caucus has relaunched with members of the 119th Congress.
Nationally, home prices and mortgages continue to make the dream of homeownership unattainable (subscription ). Other reports say that homebuyers are coming off the sidelines, anyway.
United States tariffs will have an impact on the construction of new housing (subscription).